Bombardier Challenger 605

Where it came from

The type traces back to Bill Lear's LearStar 600 concept, which Canadair bought in April 1976 and launched as the Challenger 600 on 29 October that year. The prototype flew on 8 November 1978, Transport Canada certified it in August 1980 and the FAA in November, and 81 were built. The Challenger 601 brought General Electric CF34 engines and winglets — first flight 10 April 1982, first delivery 6 May 1983 — followed by the 601-3A with a glass cockpit in 1987 and the extended-range 601-3R from 1989. The Challenger 604 was the large step: first flight 18 September 1994, Transport Canada certification 20 September 1995, first deliveries in January 1996, with a supercritical wing, saddle fuel tanks aft, higher weights and Collins Pro Line 4. 365 were built through 2006. Bombardier announced the 605 at NBAA on 8 November 2005. It first flew on 22 January 2006, was certified by Transport Canada on 5 October 2006 with the FAA and EASA following that month, and deliveries began on 29 January 2007. The changes were to the cabin and the flight deck rather than the airframe: larger windows, a redesigned tail cone that freed cabin space, and Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21. The 200th 605 entered service in October 2012, and the Challenger 650 took over the production line in 2015. Around 290 remain in the worldwide fleet, roughly 130 of them offered for charter.

Who charters a Challenger 605

Groups of eight to twelve who need a real cabin for several hours, on a sector a midsize jet cannot hold. Corporate teams to the Gulf, families to Cyprus in August, production crews with fifteen cases. The Challenger 350 below it costs less per hour and flies the same short European legs well — the 605 adds three seats, 30 cm of cabin width and about 1,500 km of range.

Each neighbour gives up something. The Challenger 850 has a far bigger cabin on the same fuselage and 5,200 km of range, which puts a fuel stop on every Europe–US sector. The Falcon 2000LXS uses shorter runways and publishes its range at eight passengers rather than six. The Legacy 650 takes one more seat and much more baggage. The 605 sits between them, and it is the one most likely to be free on your dates.

What 7,400 km actually means

7,400 km is Bombardier's published figure: 4,000 nm at long-range cruise, NBAA reserves, six passengers on board. Fill the cabin with ten or twelve and the honest number is around 6,950 km. That is the figure to plan a full-load trip against, and better known now than at the flight-planning stage.

One more thing worth saying plainly. Our table publishes ≈870 km/h, which is high-speed cruise; the range figure is calculated at long-range cruise, which is slower. You do not get both on the same flight — on a long sector the crew trades speed for distance.

With everyone on board, London–New York and Paris–New York work nonstop. Winter westbound headwinds can cost 10–15%, so a Shannon or Gander stop stays in the plan as a contingency rather than the norm. Los Angeles, Johannesburg and the Maldives need a fuel stop.

Inside the cabin

8.61 m long, 2.49 m across at the centreline, 1.85 m high, flat floor. You stand up straight and walk from the forward galley to the back. One fully enclosed lavatory, aft. No shower.

The divan converts and operators list five sleeping berths, so on a night sector part of the group lies flat and the rest recline. There is no private bedroom and no dedicated crew rest area — worth knowing before you plan a red-eye for twelve. Baggage is 3.2–3.3 m³, roughly fifteen pieces, and Bombardier describes access as unrestricted: the hold is reachable from the cabin in flight. At this cabin size a flight attendant is standard on charter. Wi-Fi is fitted to most charter 605s, but it is tail-specific — we confirm it on the aircraft, not on the type.

The corridors it flies

London–Dubai is the sector this aircraft was built for: about 6 h 50 m nonstop, inside the type's eight-hour working sector, with twelve people and their luggage on board. London–Larnaca is 4 h 30 m and asks nothing unusual of it. The shorter legs — London–Nice at 1 h 40 m, London–Ibiza at 2 h 30 m, London–Barcelona at 2 h 10 m — go on a 605 for group size rather than range: it moves the whole party in one hull instead of two.

A full cabin costs range, not runway. Inside Europe that makes no practical difference; Dubai is the one leg where twelve passengers and heavy bags are worth checking against the day's winds. Balanced field length is roughly 1,720–1,814 m at maximum weight — Luton, Farnborough, Nice, Geneva and Larnaca are all comfortable. The shortest alpine and island strips are not this aircraft's ground.

What moves the price

From around €7,000 per flight hour, with the exact quote made against a specific tail and specific dates. Four things move it.

Positioning. If the nearest free 605 is in Vienna and you leave from Luton, someone pays for the empty legs at each end. Because the type is numerous in Europe, that gap is usually small — one of the practical reasons to take it.

Crew duty. A Dubai sector and a same-day return breaks duty limits: the operator either night-stops the crew or carries a second one, and both appear in the price.

Overflight and handling. Gulf and eastern Mediterranean routings carry navigation charges that intra-European legs do not, and peak-season handling at Nice or Ibiza is not a February number.

Slots. In Cannes Festival week, or August in the Balearics, the aircraft is the easy part — the slot and the parking are what you are really booking.